Down below

Chapter 19.

   Elianah was derailed by Claire who was going on about a girl she had just met. She finally spotted Loki talking to Olivia near the swimming pool. They were eating some ice lollies, watching others dancing. He whispered something in her ears, making her giggle. Elianah rolled her eyes, poured herself some wine and walked towards them. Loki spotted her first and he must have said something about her, because Liv looked at her, chuckling.

'Hey, what's up?' Elianah said, forcing a nonchalant smile on her face.

'Nothing much. Leo was telling me about your trip to England.' Liv smiled.

'Oh, really?'

'Yup.' Liv said and looked at Loki, giggling. 'I didn't know you were so fond of dancing.'

'What can I say? I'm a regular John Travolta.'

Olivia laughed and hugged her. Elianah looked at Loki, but he was just smiling with a sly look, then his face went suddenly blank.

'Where can one find a decent drink around here? Everything tastes so bland.' came the Marquis' voice from behind her.

She went pale and turned around.

'I thought you left.'

'I got hungry. Couldn't resist the grill.' he replied with a dark grin and Elianah saw on the colour of his skin that he had recently fed.

'Who's your friend?' Olivia asked her.

'This is...'

'Cédric, enchanté.' he finished Elianah's sentence, bowing theatrically to Olivia.

'A French man?' she said, amused by his gesture.

'Blame your exchange programme.' the Marquis shrugged.

'Can you excuse us for a second?' Elianah said and linked her arm into his as if they were good pals, leading him away from Loki and Liv. 'What do you think you're doing?'

'Relax, ma chérie. Your friends are safe. I'm not an animal.'

'Some might argue with that.' she hissed and turned to face him.

'Now, now, let's stay civilized. I might have sampled the menu, but nobody noticed or got hurt. I'm not here to cause trouble. I just wanted to dance with you before I go.'

'Ha-ha. Very funny.'

'I couldn't let that wizard make fun of my favorite hunter.'

'You're drunk.'

'Far from it. The... drink was laced with different substances which have a wondrous effect.' he grinned.

   She felt his joie de vivre seeping into her, her senses getting overloaded and realized it was their blood connection. She was feeling whatever drugs were in his system from the enthralled student he drank from. She reinforced the barrier around her mind. The Marquis laughed at her focused facial expression.

'Oh, would you relax for a minute? You can try to fight it, but blood runs deep. Come on! I'm not gonna bite.' he winked and pulled her towards a group of people dancing near a makeshift DJ deck stand.

   Elianah tried her best to resist, but she didn't want to draw attention to themselves, so she followed him. Her senses were on fire, everything was crystal clear and staggeringly vivid at the same time. A slow song came on and she shook her head as he pulled her closer, his hands on her hips.

'You are mouthwateringly beautiful tonight.' he said, staring at her.

   His iridescent eyes seemed to change color by the second, reflecting the hues and lights around them. They were truly mesmerizing. She turned her head away, feeling overwhelmed.